Fears logging practices spreading dieback

Conservationists have accused the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) of turning a blind eye to logging in a south-west Western Australian forest which they say breaches dieback rules.

The Forest Products Commission (FPC) is currently logging a section of the Arcadia forest between Donnybrook and Collie.

The DEC has declared some parts of the same area to be infested with the devastating plant disease dieback.

Peter Murphy from the Arcadia Action Alliance says the commission has not taken measures to prevent the spread of dieback.

He is concerned the department has not intervened.

"There are strict regulations for members of the public. If I actually drove through Arcadia forest now in my vehicle, I could be arrested under the CALM [Conservation and Land Management] Act of 1984 for spreading dieback, particularly when it's been raining," he said.

"But these hygiene prescriptions and logging guidelines have been breached on a daily basis by the FPC."

The FPC strongly rejects the conservationists' claims, saying it is operating in accordance with DEC standards and is regularly monitored.

The department has defended its handling of the situation, saying it only lets clean trucks into non-contaminated areas.

Spokesman Drew Griffiths says washing trucks down before they leave contaminated areas could make the situation worse.

"If you wash it off and it goes into a gutter or goes into a sump, and then you've got all the root systems going into that, then for sure you are probably concentrating it and you are probably going to get more chance of spreading," he said.

"So it's actually, as counter intuitive as it sounds, it's actually better to have it shaking off a truck and falling on the road."

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